


The Fire's Out But Still It Burns

by Aceofstars16



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Other, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, dad tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 06:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14785631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aceofstars16/pseuds/Aceofstars16
Summary: After Peter gets poisoned, Tony faces old memories and Peter realizes that his nightmares are more than just nightmares, they are memories.





	The Fire's Out But Still It Burns

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr post](http://aceofstars16.tumblr.com/post/174346277098/the-fires-out-but-still-it-burns)

Nightmares. Tony thought they couldn’t get any worse, but then Thanos had happened. Even after earth was saved, and everything was righted, Tony was still haunted by what he had seen, what he had felt. Watching everyone around him disappear was terrifying, but Peter was always the worst, because he was so scared. Because he had pleaded with Tony to save him, and he couldn’t, he could never save him.

Every night, Tony would wake up and instinctively check Peter’s status, making sure he was at home, that he was okay, that he was alive. He found himself calling Peter more than usual, just to make sure he was doing okay, and Tony could tell the kid was confused, but he wasn’t about to explain it, that the nightmares Peter told him about had actually happened.

With each week, it got a little better, though it wasn’t perfect, Tony knew by now that it would never be perfect. But he had learned to live with better.

Then one day, it stared him in the face again.

Tony had been working on a project when he got an alert.

“Sir. I am getting toxin reports from the Iron Spider.”

The screwdriver Tony had been holding fell out of his hand. Without a second thought, Tony raced out of the room, heading towards the nearest exit while grabbing his nano suit.

Within a few seconds, the suit was on and he was flying to Peter’s location, and the next few minutes were a blur. Finding the kid, pinned by some new idiot villain who Tony promptly punched unconscious, then flying back as fast as possible.

As soon as Peter was on the med table, Tony ran diagnostics, wishing Bruce was here – he was always better with the medical side of things.

“Friday, what are we looking at here?”

“I don’t have this toxin in my database, it must be a new one, sir.”

Tony cursed under his breath. “Can you figure out an antidote?”

“I need a sample of the poison to create an effective antidote.”

“I can get a sample…” Tony said, recalling how he had left the stupid poison maker for the police to find. “How long do I have?”

“By my calculations, he has fifteen minutes before organ failure.”

The words were like a punch to the stomach. That wouldn’t be enough time to get the poison and make the antidote, but he had to try.

“Stabilize him, try to stretch it out,” he said, already making his way back to the balcony.

“T-tony?”

Every thought racing through Tony’s brain froze as the kid spoke, and he quickly made his way to Peter’s side.

“I’m here, Pete. You’re okay, I’m going to fix this.”

The kid’s eyes seemed unfocused, but he was still looking at Tony with narrowed eyes. “They….they were never dreams, were they?”

“Wha-? Kid we don’t have time, I need to go and get some-”

“My suit.”

“What?” Tony glanced at the suit for a moment, but didn’t see anything out of place, maybe there was something internally wrong with it. “Look, I’ll fix the suit later but-”

“Poison, on my suit.” Peter held up his hand, and that’s when Tony saw a clear liquid on it.

Tony quickly grabbed a gauze pad and wiped the liquid before putting in it one of the many machines in the lab.

“Friday, can you use this?”

A moment. “Yes, I will start working on the antidote right away.”

Silence followed as machines hummed and Tony tapped the table with worry.

“Did…did it all happen like I’ve dreamt?”

Peter’s voice broke Tony out of his worried state, but the mention of the dream only pulled him back in. “Let’s not worry about that right now, okay?”

Silence again.

“Antidote ready, sir. To be most productive, inject it immediately into the patient’s blood.”

Tony barely heard the instructions as he fumbled with the small bottle of antidote and filled a syringe with the liquid. Then he forced his hand to still as he injected it into Peter’s neck, trying not to focus on the slight wince from the boy. As soon as it was in, Tony looked up at the vitals screen Friday had pulled.

“How long till it takes effect?”

“Instantaneous, though there may still be side effects for the next few hours as the toxins are destroyed. Recommended rest for the patient.”

Tony let out a breath and looked at Peter. “Come on, let’s get you someplace more comfortable.”

A few minutes later, Peter was curled up on a couch, blankets covering him. He had already had a fever before the antidote and now it seemed to only be worse.

“You going to be okay here?” Tony asked, knowing very well he should be working, but he didn’t want to leave the kid. Not after almost losing him again.

“Yeah I…well I wouldn’t mind a little company if…if you can stay.”

“Of course I can stay.” Tony sat on the couch next to Peter.

“Thanks…” Peter said, as a shiver wracked his body and he shuffled a little closer to Tony. It was just instinct, Tony knew, but that didn’t stop him from putting a hand on the kid’s shoulder.

It was silent for a few moments, then Peter spoke again. “The…the nightmares are…they…happened didn’t they…?”

Tony froze. He closed his eyes, he had promised he’d never tell Peter. Dealing with the aftermath of dying or almost dying was not something he wanted the kid to have to go through. But, then again, Peter already was going through it…

Taking in a deep breath, Tony exhaled out before answering. “Yeah…but that’s over now, you’re okay now.”

A shiver passed through Peter’s body, and Tony rubbed his shoulder but he paused as he felt arms wrap around him – tightly. This time he could feel Peter shaking, and it wasn’t because of the fever.

“Hey, Pete, it’s okay.”

“I…I remember…” The arms tightened around him and Tony pulled the kid into a hug.

“I know…it’s okay, I’ve got you, you’re okay now. Just breathe.” Tony made sure to speak slowly and calming, remembering all too well the memories of his own near-death experiences. Peter didn’t deserve any of this, he was still just a kid…

“Hey, you want to help me figure out this nano converter I’ve been working on? Or we could watch one of your favorite movies?” It wasn’t a complete fix, Tony knew, but sometimes a distraction was the best way to deal with the trauma.

There was silence for a few moments then Peter spoke in a quiet, stammering voice. “S-star wars?”

“Sure thing kid,” Tony said, squeezing Peter’s shoulder. “Friday, play ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’”

The movie started, but Peter didn’t move, his head was still burrowed in Tony’s chest. Glancing up at the screen, Tony held back a sigh. He wanted to do more for the kid, but as much as he wished he could, he couldn’t just make the fear vanish. Sure, he might be able to come up with something that could stimulate different chemicals in the brain, but that wouldn’t heal, not completely. Time was the only true healer in this instance.

Unconsciously, Tony started running a hand through Peter’s hair, a quiet gesture his mom had done for him after a long day. Peter’s hug loosened a little, his body seemed to relax, the movie continued to play, but about halfway through, Tony heard a quiet breathing that only came from sleep. A small smile grew on Tony’s mouth, glad that, even if he couldn’t fix everything, he could still be there for Peter, and in his experience, sometimes that was the best thing someone could do.


End file.
